Sherman, unlike Jesus, was a military general. Two totally different personalities.

Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. –RC Sproul"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." –Mark Twain " ~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~FaithPaul was probably SO soaked in prayer nobody else has ever equaled him.~Faith :)

Sure but there is no evidence that this group indulged in any forceful or violent acts unless they were getting arrested. The mystery remains why Jesus would allow the demons from one guy to destroy the livelihood of another innocent victim. A herd of pigs may have represented one mans entire fortune. No wonder the people wanted Him to leave their town. So he cures one crazy loon...but at what expense?

Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. –RC Sproul"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." –Mark Twain " ~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~FaithPaul was probably SO soaked in prayer nobody else has ever equaled him.~Faith :)

Throw "describing the destruction of a livelihood" away and go back to the story.

OK.

So if the story was a Jewish one, getting rid of the pigs was only helping everyone.

The non-Jews still wanted Jesus to leave, however. Perhaps I was seeing it from their perspective...he was not helping them much at all.

Another question arises as to the belief of the man possessed. Was he a Jew fallen on hard mental times? Or was he one of the others?

Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. –RC Sproul"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." –Mark Twain " ~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~FaithPaul was probably SO soaked in prayer nobody else has ever equaled him.~Faith :)

Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. –RC Sproul"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." –Mark Twain " ~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~FaithPaul was probably SO soaked in prayer nobody else has ever equaled him.~Faith :)

Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. –RC Sproul"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." –Mark Twain " ~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~FaithPaul was probably SO soaked in prayer nobody else has ever equaled him.~Faith :)

Interesting article online...which says what I wanted to say better than I could.

quote:Here are 4 ways Jesus challenged the status quo.

1. JESUS REJECTED “BUSINESS AS USUAL”.In the large city of Jerusalem, he attacked the money changers, who were running a racket swapping temple shekels for Roman money at a profit. He didn’t just chew them out, he physically chased them out. When a corrupt tax collector decided to follow Jesus, he returned all his ill-gotten gains and then some. “Business as usual” just couldn’t continue when Jesus got involved.

And then there were his frequent warnings about wealth. It was easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle, he said, than for a rich person to get into God’s kingdom. He told stories about rich fools headed for hellfire and poor widows who captured the heart of God. One pious tycoon was asked to sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor. “No one can serve both God and money,” Jesus said. That kind of teaching made more than a few enemies among those who would profit from the status quo.

2. JESUS TURNED THE LAW ON ITS HEAD.While he didn’t break Roman law, there were hundreds of complex and burdensome religious laws that the religious leaders had added to Scripture. Jesus railed against a religion that focused more on rules than people – more on obedience than love. For example, the Bible says Jesus intentionally healed people on the Sabbath, knowing it would violate the religious law. “The Sabbath was made for people, and not people for the Sabbath,” he said.

There were a lot of these run-ins with the Pharisees, the religious class of his day. Jesus berated them for hypocrisy and corruption. In turn, they accused him of hanging out with the wrong kind of people. What self-respecting leader would go to parties with prostitutes and swindlers? They called Jesus a “friend of sinners,” and the crazy part is – he didn’t seem to mind.

3. JESUS SHUNNED POLITICS.If you think our politics are complicated, take a look at the time in which Jesus lived. The Romans had been occupying and oppressing his home country for about a century. Some groups tried to appease them, others coexisted, and still others fought back. Among his disciples, Jesus had at least one rebel (Simon the Zealot), and Judas Iscariot’s last name might indicate a connection to the Sicari, who were hardcore Jewish freedom fighters.

People flocked to hear Jesus, but he generally avoided political messaging—but he did talk about the kingdom of God. Some people would definitely see that as a return to Jewish independence, with a God-ordained king in charge. According to one Gospel, after Jesus miraculously fed a crowd of more than 5,000, the people surrounded him, intending to make him a king, but Jesus walked away. As he explained later to Pontius Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.”

4. JESUS MADE OUTRAGEOUS CLAIMS.Early in his career, at his hometown synagogue, Jesus read a prophecy about a savior and announced that it was coming true right in front of them. When he scolded them for disbelief, they tried to kill him.

In general, Jesus avoided sounding blasphemous, but when other people started calling him Messiah or Son of God, he didn’t correct them. When he healed people, he often asked them to keep quiet about it, but they rushed out and told their stories (wouldn’t we all?), which spread like wildfire.

Yet Jesus also fed the fury, declaring that he existed before Abraham and that he was “one” with God. In a dispute at the holiest site in Jerusalem, he said, “Tear down this temple and in three days I will build it again.” The religious leaders treated it like a terrorist threat, but the temple he was actually talking about was his own body. He was forecasting his own resurrection.

NoNukes is right. I am trying to get my head together again, and I am finding that I dont even like some of what my own religion of choice teaches. I prefer Pauls more than conquerors speech rather than Jesus sell all that you have admonitions. And when Jesus killed the pigs, he evidently cared nothing for the livlihood of some of the people. And livlihood is what is keeping me up at night worrying!

Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. –RC Sproul"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." –Mark Twain " ~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~FaithPaul was probably SO soaked in prayer nobody else has ever equaled him.~Faith :)

quote: JESUS SHUNNED POLITICS.If you think our politics are complicated, take a look at the time in which Jesus lived. The Romans had been occupying and oppressing his home country for about a century. Some groups tried to appease them, others coexisted, and still others fought back. Among his disciples, Jesus had at least one rebel (Simon the Zealot), and Judas Iscariot’s last name might indicate a connection to the Sicari, who were hardcore Jewish freedom fighters.

People flocked to hear Jesus, but he generally avoided political messaging—but he did talk about the kingdom of God. Some people would definitely see that as a return to Jewish independence, with a God-ordained king in charge. According to one Gospel, after Jesus miraculously fed a crowd of more than 5,000, the people surrounded him, intending to make him a king, but Jesus walked away. As he explained later to Pontius Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.”

Sounds like a politician to me.

Phat writes:

And when Jesus killed the pigs, he evidently cared nothing for the livlihood of some of the people.

I don't know why you obsess about the owners of the pigs. It's a story. Whatever happened before or after the story is beside the point. Does it matter who Little Red Riding Hood married?